Information, technology, and Constitutional Law were themes common to both Workshops held on Wednesday morning at the 7th Lisbon Legal Forum, a partnership between the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV), the Brazilian Institute of Public Law (IDP) and the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon (FDUL). The flow of news and opinions through social networks, the changes imposed on traditional media by the new content distribution models and platforms, and the dissemination of Fake news and hate speech were discussed by the speakers on the last day of the meeting.

Sofia Ronchordás, post-doctorate from Yale University and Professor at the Law School of the University of Groningen (Netherlands), said that the advent of social networks gave citizens a false sense of participation and that, although attractive, the impression that networks are free — the idea of a space that doesn't charge anything in exchange for its use — is treacherous. The researcher recalls that every user supplies technology companies with their personal data and that this business model has been consolidated by big tech, the large corporations of the digital age.

This new communication dynamic imposed a challenge on traditional media outlets - that of remaining relevant in the face of a scenario in which everyone is potentially a producer of information and opinion. Luísa Meireles, director of Agência Lusa, noted that Fake news they are not the exclusive fruit of this technological era, but their devastating potential has increased significantly. Studies show that Fake news linked to political issues, for example, circulate three times faster than others. “I don't know what's worse: a world where people believe in lies or one that refuses to believe in truth.”

The Full Professor at FDUL, Carlos Blanco de Morais, stated that traditional media have merits in identifying Fake news, but she herself is not immune to deliberate manipulation nor can she be considered the “last guardian of the exemption”. For him, the debate on the regulation of cyberspace must take place, in the same way that rules were established for the traditional press. And he stresses that it is necessary to defend freedom without hurting democracy: “Censorship suffocates democracy”.

Regulation was also the subject of the intervention of the Judge of the Court of Justice of the State of Rio de Janeiro and Director General of the Judicial School of the same state, André Gustavo Corrêa de Andrade. He dealt with what was conventionally called hate speech—or Hate Speeches. He noted that it makes it difficult to identify this type of discourse - and consequently to impose legal restrictions on its practice - the fact that this expression does not refer to a “univocal and consensual concept”. Andrade says that the expression lacks precise, universally accepted contours applicable to various cultures and their respective legal systems.

In this regard, the Federal District Attorney and Adjunct Professor of the IDP, Jorge Galvão, and the Full Professor of the University of Granada (Spain), Francisco Balaguer Callejón, pointed out, each in his panel, the need for the Law to advance more quickly to face the accelerated changes that guide the digital environment. Callejón considered that in the early years of the 21st century, technology evolved equivalent to the progress achieved throughout the 20th century. The Law, however, did not keep up with the evolution.

For Galvão, the technologies and the new dynamics established make it necessary for societies to reflect on freedom of expression. Current theories, based on the challenges of the last century, no longer account for reality. It is necessary to rethink freedom of expression and the dignity of the human person within the new context.

They also participated in Workshops “Democracy, professional press and social networks” and”Hate Speech, fake news and social networks” Evgeny Morozov, Visiting Researcher at Stanford University, and Rui Lanceiro, PhD in Legal and Political Sciences from FDUL.

Check out the full workshop Democracy, Traditional Press and Social Networks at the 7th Lisbon Legal Forum:

Check out the full Hate Speech, Fake News workshop and Social Networks at the 7th Lisbon Legal Forum:

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